The 580,000 restaurant and food service jobs in Pennsylvania represent 10% of the state’s total employment. To serve that industry, Pennsylvania College of Technology is launching a bachelor’s degree in business administration: restaurant and hospitality operations.

The new degree, available in fall 2020, answers the hospitality industry’s demand for front-of-the-house managers who have strong knowledge and skill in business applications. Feedback from the college’s industry partners further indicates that a bachelor’s degree is required for entry-level management positions in most restaurant companies.

The new major joins a suite of business administration degrees at Penn College that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.

In addition to the unique hands-on experience that students will gain in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant – a casual fine-dining restaurant that serves as a live-learning laboratory for the college’s hospitality majors – they will benefit from classes in management, accounting, finance, business ethics, business law, marketing, economics and international business.

Hands-on, hospitality-related coursework includes purchasing, menu planning and cost control, travel and tourism, beverage management, facilities planning, event planning, facilities management, dining room management, and an internship in the hospitality industry.

Penn College also offers culinary arts and baking and pastry arts degrees that are accredited by the American Culinary Federation.

“This new program combines the excellent learning environment provided by the hospitality faculty, facilities and Le Jeune Chef Restaurant with the business department’s accredited business core curriculum,” said Chef Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts.

To learn more about business and hospitality degrees at Penn College, call 570-327-4505 or visit www.pct.edu/bh.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.